Chapter Ten: The Star Map Appears, Paving the Way to the Netherworld!

Just as the Prince of Shadows had foreseen, in less than half a day, all three hundred and sixty-eight kingdoms of the Snowbound North were thrown into utter chaos.

Murder, arson, rape, and pillaging became commonplace. The entire northern realm was plunged into turmoil, its people gripped by terror.

Only within the borders of the Cold Moon Kingdom, under the vigilant watch of Mo Yuan, did billions of wandering souls find peace and safety. In stark contrast, Cold Moon Kingdom became the sacred land amidst the chaos of the Snowbound North.

Refugees flocked in droves to the Cold Moon Kingdom, but were barred at the gates by Mo Yuan and his countless souls. Thus, outside its territories, crowds surged restlessly, while inside the city walls, peace and tranquility reigned—a strange, surreal scene.

As time slipped by, dusk began to settle. Crimson clouds stretched across the sky, casting their glow over Longevity Valley, which spanned ten thousand miles in every direction. The endless lush vegetation swayed gently in the breeze, exuding an air of weariness.

Deep within the valley lay a phantom lake, ethereal and pristine, quietly resting in the heart of this secluded realm. By its shore, a youth clad in a black robe embroidered with golden thread sat cross-legged in silent meditation.

Beside him stood a middle-aged man draped in a black and gold fur mantle.

The Prince of Shadows. King Chu Jiang.

“Your Highness, I have a feeling that those from the Divine Dynasty of the Nine Heavens are not as simple as they appear,” King Chu Jiang remarked, gazing deeply into the illusory lake before them, his voice low and thoughtful.

“There is no need for concern,” the Prince of Shadows replied with a faint shake of his head, a glint of contemplation flickering in his eyes as he continued in a calm tone, “Now that the entire land of Tianyuan has been irrigated by the River of Forgetfulness, with my immortal foundation intact, not even an Immortal Emperor could do much, should he come in person.”

“Moreover, while the sovereign of the Divine Dynasty is skilled in strategy, his cultivation has not reached the threshold of transcendence. In the end, he does not dare to risk everything.”

“Our time, by comparison, is more than sufficient.”

“It was merely my own excess of caution,” replied King Chu Jiang with a resigned shake of his head, bowing deeply to the Prince, his voice heavy with regret.

“It matters not,” the Prince of Shadows said indifferently. Seemingly recalling something, he turned to look at King Chu Jiang and asked, “All these years, have you had any news of Ling’er?”

“My lord…” At the question, King Chu Jiang’s expression tightened abruptly. After a long silence, he bowed deeply, his voice somber as he spoke, “In the final battle years ago, though Your Highness grievously wounded the ruler of the Divine Dynasty and slew the Lord of the Myriad Clans, the Six Paths of Reincarnation were also tainted by corruption.”

“After Your Highness entered seclusion, we, together with Lady Meng, sought to purge the filth from the cycle, but all efforts were in vain.”

“In the end, Lady Meng fused her divine soul with the Six Paths, becoming their spirit and cleansing the corruption from within.”

“But after Your Highness entered the endless cycle of reincarnation, the world changed. The Six Paths were shattered by new champions of the myriad clans.”

“Lady Meng has since vanished…”

King Chu Jiang’s voice was heavy, his head bowed, unable to meet the Prince’s eyes.

“Yet Lady Meng’s soul is unique—no matter how many fragments it is divided into, it can always coalesce again.”

“Even so, up to now, we have found no trace of her…”

“The only place where a fragment of Lady Meng’s soul might be hidden is perhaps the Sea of Burials…”

With those words, King Chu Jiang fell silent. He was loath to speak further about Lady Meng, but when the Prince asked, he could not refuse.

Lady Meng…

She was the one the Prince relied on most, overseeing all the affairs of the Underworld.

With a hundred thousand ghostly soldiers at her command, she raised the blood-soaked banner and strode across the heavens, her red robes and sword laying waste to the myriad clans.

Second only to the Prince, above all others.

She wielded authority over the Six Paths.

Once, a clan defied her orders and dared to insult her; when the Prince learned of it, he slaughtered them to the last.

It could be said that, in the Prince’s heart, Lady Meng meant more to him than even the Ten Lords of Yama.

Not that the Prince was swayed by beauty alone.

It was Lady Meng who had stood by him as they built the Underworld, step by step, suppressing all the realms. The Ten Lords of Yama and the other shadow gods joined only later.

Thus, it was only natural for the Prince to delegate power to Lady Meng; within the Underworld, no one harbored the slightest resentment.

“The Sea of Burials, then…” At King Chu Jiang’s words, the Prince of Shadows murmured softly, his eyes deep and distant as he gazed into the illusory lake. “That sea of stars is not far from the Tianyuan continent…”

“When Tianyuan is pacified and the other shore flowers bloom across the heavens, I’ll search for her there…”

With that, the Prince closed his eyes and lapsed into silence.

King Chu Jiang remained quietly by his side, saying nothing more.

The cool night breeze played with their robes, and under the pale moonlight, a sense of desolation hovered faintly about them.

How many of the friends from those days still remained?

Though the Record of Shadow Gods bore the marks of most of the Underworld’s gods, and with sufficient cultivation they might be revived, for those like Lady Meng—whose souls were extraordinary—such marks could only guarantee their undying existence.

As for resurrection, unless Lady Meng herself reassembled her soul fragments, it would fall to the Prince to gather them and, with the Record of Shadow Gods, restore her to life.

Reflecting on this, the Prince could not suppress a sigh of helplessness.

The universe was vast beyond measure…

Even as an immortal, what corner could one truly reach?

“How fare the Southern Wilds and the Western Deserts now?” After a long silence, the Prince asked, his expression unchanged as he gazed at the phantom lake before him.

“For ten thousand miles, the Southern Wilds have been occupied by the demon clans for millennia. The Western Deserts, on the other hand, are far richer in spiritual energy, and their tribes are all the stronger for it,” King Chu Jiang replied without delay, bowing respectfully and speaking in his deep, steady voice.

“And what of the worlds beyond the Celestial Domain of Tianyuan? Are you familiar with them?” the Prince inquired after a brief pause.

“In earlier years, I learned something of them. Beyond the Celestial Domain are the Three Realms, Six Secret Lands, and Seven Star Seas. After losing your protection, they quickly pledged allegiance to the Divine Dynasty of the Nine Heavens…”

“They have yet to intrude upon Tianyuan, but I feel these are not people to be trusted,” King Chu Jiang replied after a thoughtful silence.

“Let us sweep them all away,” the Prince said at last with a slow shake of his head. With a wave of his hand, ripples spread across the lake before him, and suddenly, a magnificent vision unfolded.

It was a grand map of the starry seas.

At its center lay the Celestial Domain of Tianyuan, below which stretched three slightly smaller, yet still boundless, continents.

Surrounding the Celestial Domain were six sinister vortices, each radiating a strange energy. They spun endlessly, emanating a power that made the heart tremble.

Further out, seven vast star seas encircled the Celestial Domain, the Three Realms, and the Six Secret Lands.

Each star sea brimmed with a unique aura—some ethereal as immortals, some violent as demons, some wild as monsters…

Yet one thing was the same for all:

Every secret land, world, and star sea was connected to the Tianyuan continent by a faint, subtle thread.

From the Prince’s vantage, it became clear:

That faint thread was none other than the River of Yellow Springs, transformed into the River of Forgetfulness!

Once, the Yellow Springs entered the world and became the River of Forgetfulness.

Now, with the River of Forgetfulness established, the Yellow Springs paved the way.